How is Decluttering Like Vacation?

I know, the title sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but hear me out, they are quite similar.

I love my work, so much so that I tend to overdo things and require some serious downtime to recharge. Last year Ross and I went to the Dominican Republic and I basically passed out for 4 days. I finally was able to walk around on day 5 and then we left the next day. It was what I needed and I came home well rested and with some gorgeous images, always a sign of a great vacation.

So how is this similar to decluttering you ask?

1. Just Do It. It's the planning and deciding to put it in your calendar. Once you book your vacation, you are halfway there. Putting things in time makes them happen. This is part of what I do. My client says, "I'm going to bring this packaged food I don't eat any more to the local church". My question is always the same: by when?

2. You know where everything is and everything you have. I've had clients tell me how much they love traveling for business as there are so many less decisions to make each day - this is the goal of decluttering and organizing. Making less decisions. When you know where everything lives and you can put everything where it belongs, it is no longer stressful to clean up the house if someone is coming over at the end of a busy week. This is life, it gets messy. The goal isn't to live in a magazine layout. Make the easy stuff easy and watch how it permeates into the rest of your life.

3. It's not always easy to get there, but the rewards are worth it. When my husband and I go away, we go AWAY. The fewer signs of civilization the better. Those places usually require longer journeys and it's typically a challenge. But to end up feeling like you are the only person on the planet - I'll take it. My clients complain that decluttering is hard, it's long and confusing, but upon completion, we have created an oasis that makes everyday a vacation compared to the daily chaos that greets them each and morning.